Accident Details
On September 25, 2017, around 11:20 JST, a Cessna 172P (registration JA4062, serial number 17275689, manufactured March 10, 1982) operated by New Japan Aviation Co., Ltd. was landing at Satsuma Iojima Airport in Kagoshima Prefecture. The aircraft had departed from Kagoshima Airport with a captain and two passengers on board for passenger transport. The captain, a 64-year-old male with a commercial pilot certificate and 14,415 hours of total flight time, conducted a low approach to assess air currents before landing. He observed east winds with sudden gusts, updrafts, and downdrafts, but judged that landing on Runway 18 was possible. During the landing, the aircraft experienced a hard touchdown with a strong impact, followed by bouncing. The captain did not perform a go-around, as he did not perceive the bouncing as severe. The aircraft bounced several times with vertical and horizontal shaking, and after landing, the nose wheel was found flat.
Investigation Findings
The Japan Transport Safety Board investigated the accident. At the time of the accident, the airport had no air traffic services unit and did not provide weather or runway information by radio. According to the captain, the sea surface wind around Iojima Island was east at 15 to 20 knots, with some places reaching 25 knots. Weather observations at the airport at 11:00 recorded wind from east-northeast at 1.6 m/s, with a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 8.7 m/s and no precipitation. Damage to the aircraft included the nose landing gear mounting areas of the forward fuselage bulkhead, which were damaged due to a large load from below, and deformation of the cockpit floor and lower forward fuselage skin. The propeller was not retained, so its condition could not be confirmed. The aircraft had been disassembled and stored after the accident, and the company was instructed regarding the aircraft during a safety audit in February 2019, after which the captain reported the accident. The occurrence was classified as an accident on March 6, 2019.
Probable Cause
The investigation determined that the airframe was damaged because the aircraft entered a porpoising state during landing, and the nose wheel touched down severely.
Safety Actions Taken
Following the accident, the company implemented several safety actions: re-training on take-off/landing operations and go-around procedures for the captain, and a thorough notification to all employees regarding operations at Satsuma Iojima Airport. The notification included: using information from the airport and websites to suspend flights when an east wind component of about 15 knots or more is expected; returning to the departure airport without making an approach if such winds are anticipated; performing a low approach to judge air currents and aborting landing in severe turbulence; and executing a go-around whenever the pilot feels a dangerous situation.